Debating Same-Sex Marriage at Notre Dame: Maggie Gallagher, co-founder of the National Organization for Marriage and the Institute for Marriage and Public Policy, vs. John Corvino, a gay rights activist and Philosophy professor at Wayne State University, on October, 25 2012. This debate was part of the College of Arts & Letters Dean’s Fellows program at the University of Notre Dame.

Minnesota and Pennsylvania are both in play. Actually, a new poll today shows Obama is under 50 percent — in Maine.

These aren’t the normal swing states. And yet polls in the normal swing states show Obama tied with Romney.

What is happening?

My guess is not necessarily as good as anyone else’s but here goes: Obama is running a highly effective campaign. Where he is focusing resources, he is fighting Romney to a draw and perhaps a win in key battleground states. In the meantime, the rest of the country is swinging Romney strongly.

The horrible economy and Romney’s effective focus on jobs is pushing him forward.

On October 19, The Evergreen State College with support from the Cal Anderson Memorial Endowment hosted a debate on Marriage Equality, with Andrew Koppelman, John Paul Stevens Professor of Law at Northwestern University, and Maggie Gallagher, co-founder of the National Organization for Marriage.

New York appeals court strikes down DOMA

New York (CNN) — A federal appeals court in New York on Thursday became the nation’s second to deem the Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional.

The divisive Clinton-era law was passed in 1996 and bars federal recognition of same-sex marriages and says states cannot be forced to recognize such marriages from other states.

The court determined that the federal law violates the Constitution’s equal protection clause. A federal appeals court in Boston made a similar ruling in May, but the moves are considered largely symbolic as the issue is expected to be eventually decided by the U.S. Supreme Court.

In February, the Obama administration ordered the Justice Department to stop defending the constitutionality of the law.

“Marriage really matters because kids need a mom and a dad,” Gallagher said.- The foundation of Gallagher’s argument against same-sex marriage was centered around its impact on children and family structures.

Authors debate same-sex marriage at WSU

Advocates hope to bridging communication gap between opposing sides

Darryl Terrell / South End National Organization of Marriage co-founder Maggie Gallagher and Wayne State Department of Philosophy Professor John Corvino debate same-sex marriage Sept. 27 at the WSU Community Arts Auditorium.Read More…

My take: If marriage really were dead, people would not respond so powerfully to the idea that marriage matters because children need their mom and dad.

Despair is the most potent spiritual weapon the Enemy has against us. If you despair, I respect that, but why try to get others who have hope to despair? Do the things for which you have hope. But you may be wrong about the future. Do not discourage others who have hope from acting on it.

Young women now have to defend themselves not only from stereotypical sexual predators, but also from older women and gay men who seek their eggs.

Value depends on scarcity. In the world of human reproduction, the most valuable entity is the fertile female—specifically, her eggs and her womb.

The fierce politics surrounding female fecundity and women’s reproductive rights rests not only on a woman’s ability to create new life, but also on the incredible amount of commitment and risk involved when her eggs and her womb are accessed for procreation. Since women are fertile for a shorter period than men, since gestation takes forty long weeks, and since labor and delivery pose life-threatening risks, young women always will face disproportionately high demands for access to their bodies. But those demands are rising in unexpected ways, and from unexpected people.